FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Here’s my two cents worth about the DMG/AMA Pro Racing issue. I’m 50 years old, and have been a fan of AMA road racing since I was in my teens, and have only missed a few of the AMA road races at Road America during the last 27 years. I’ve seen all of the great riders race there during the last three decades–Eddie, Wes, Wayne, Doug, Mat, Ben – etc. I enjoy it as much now as I did when I was a kid, and probably even more. I’m a real fan, to say the least. What do I think about DMG’s vision of AMA road racing? Not much. I do agree that AMA road racing has needed a substantial overhaul for quite some time, but not like this! When the time comes that the premier AMA road racing class (Daytona Superbike) is running machines that have less horsepower than the bikes sitting out in my garage, just because DMG says that’s what I should enjoy, then the hell with em’. If DMG proceeds with it’s plan, then I won’t be at any more of their races (starting next year), and I’ll boycott their TV coverage too. There’s just too much good motorcycle racing around the world to waste my time with their foolishness. It may not mean much to them, but it’s my way of taking a stand, even if I’m the only one that knows I’m doing it. If the best riders, on the fastest bikes in the country (the 1000cc Superbikes, without HP limits) are not the main event, I’ll walk away from it and won’t look back. Dean Lawson Linden, Michigan FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Some think the series needs change, some think given time Honda and others will begin to get competitive again. This however is hardly significant in most peoples opinions, I believe. What most are expressing distaste about is the extent to which DMG is proposing changes and how they are going about expressing those changes. Some main examples of this are the extreme proposed changes in class structures, one being eliminating American Superbike racing as we know it; and the almost offensive manner in which these changes and others, namely racing in the rain have been communicated to the public. All of this has turned off a significant number of core fans and prompted responses from fans in motorcycle forums, the press and riders. This is all clearly evidenced by the level of coverage this story is getting. Essentially the core road racing fans/ enthusiasts are pissed. THE KICKER: DMG seems to think it’s OK to piss off the existing core road racing fans because all the changes will attract more new fans and new and better sponsorship (I’m assuming this is true, why else would they act in this almost combative manner). BUT who are those fans? And who is that sponsorship? And why will the changes attract new fans? I cannot figure out who these fans are and why they would like the new series more if we wouldn’t? I think the current small fan base are the only people who care about road racing, period. I don’t believe there is any significant segment of the population, by any measure, that has not already been reached by AMA racing. This is not like NASCAR or Grand Am racing, anyone can take a casual interest in that because almost anyone can relate to driving a car. Cars and car racing in America are mainstream. Motorcycles and motorcycle racing are NOT and they won’t be unless Harley-Davidson starts producing road racing machines. So if you piss off the existing core you are really left with nothing. Unless DMG thinks the core will get over it and just continue watching anyway, but then what is the point of any changes in the first place? Quite honestly I will probably watch the new series, I just won’t be paying any money or making any effort to attend my favorite races; Infineon, Laguna and Fontana. I think a much better approach would have been to get the core fans on DMG’s side first, take their input and make some changes after careful consideration at least that way the core might snowball with existing casual fans. Kyle Morham San Francisco, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: The question I keep asking myself is what is the big picture? Where is DMG trying to take us? To 500-mile races on the “Bike of Tomorrow”? Closer, more competitive racing? A better show for the fans? I’m not sure, and I don’t think they are, either. As a long-time fan, sponsor, race team owner and motorcycle nut, I really can’t see the big picture. I have no idea where we are going, but I kept my hopes super high, right until I read the comments (on racing in the rain) by Roger Edmondson. If I read them correctly, he was telling the riders to shut up and ride?! Mid-Ohio and Sears Point are so stupid to ride in ride in the rain that I think perhaps Mr. Edmondson should take a few laps in the DRY at speed, let alone trying to keep off the walls and stay alive with the slightest mist falling. Let’s face facts, tracks like Mid Ohio, Loudon, Sears, etc, shouldn’t even be ridden in the wet at track days, let alone by the best, fastest riders in the US. No wait a minute”¦ Maybe they want a clean slate. Force all the top guys out, Force out all the factories, and start all over. You remember back to the early days of NASCAR, and the factory ban on racing? Didn’t last long, as the factories can TALK a big game, but in the end, they need to race to sell bikes, period. So what will we see in the short term in my opinion? A lot of bitching and whining, a short term rider revolt, and a lot of turmoil. I think long term there is a possibility of a NASCAR-style big show, but will it take the death of one of our top riders to make them make safety the number one priority above all else? Think Dale Earnhardt folks, not a good thing. On to cheating”¦ oh yes, cheating. That seems to be the HUGE topic of discussion. I don’t think that it will be perfect out of the box, but many NASCAR teams have budgets that rival the entire AMA paddock, and if THEY can’t cheat and get away with it, I believe there isn’t much hope for the AMA guys. I don’t particularly agree with the current rules package, but at the same time, I’m willing to take a look and see where it takes us. (Although Moto-ST is pretty lame in person, and pretty much like watching a SV650 club race,(slow and out of control)) I however WON’T be spending any of my money to go racing in 2009. One thing is for sure. Racing in the US will never be the same. William Kenefick Camarillo, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I read this and I can only why you would print dribble like this from the uninformed? “Theoretically, this means an engine builder with a big imagination and a big budget could add all kinds of exotic internal parts (like a billet knife-edged crankshaft and a custom eight-speed gearbox) to create a perfectly legal engine that spins up like a two-stroke and produces a Himalayan torque curve. Unlimited modifications means unlimited budget.” This is simply an ignorant statement by an uninformed writer. Horsepower is calculated from measured torque and rpm. To have a “Himalayan torque curve” an engine simply wouldn’t spin very high, like a Buell. The search for more rpm is where “like a billet knife-edged crankshaft and a custom eight-speed gearbox” would pay, not when looking for a big, fat torque curve. I like this rule and with every bike hitting the dyno the characteristics of different engine designs with the same horsepower and different torque curves will be very interesting to watch. Will Eikenberry Littlerock, California FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Why is it that we (the current AMA fans) want to keep the litre bikes out there racing? Why do we all think that 600cc Superbikes would suck and DMG is going to ruin everything we love about racing? What’s wrong with an 80hp class and superbikes that make less horsepower than production 1000s? The racing should be close with a horsepower limit, right? The FX class now is only a few seconds a lap slower than Superbikes, the casual fan would hardly notice the difference, would they? So whey does not racing the 1000’s leave a bad taste in my mouth? I was thinking about this the other night when some of my neighbors stopped over. Several own 600cc sportbikes and they were admiring my GSXR-600 racebike. It’s been crashed a few times, the Leo Vince really needs to be re-packed, and while revving it in my garage with race gas fumes in the air, my neighbor says “dude, that thing is an animal. You gotta have balls to race that thing.” That’s when it struck me: We want to see machines that are animals, controlled by guys with balls. Ever been to the Indy 500? Watch an Indycar fire down the front straight at 240 mph and you know that thing is an animal. Watch it take a sharp left through a very narrow turn one and you know whoever is driving that thing has balls. NHRA Dragster? At idle those things are animals. 325 mph in 5 seconds takes balls. 42 NASCAR cars taking the green at Daytona? Animals. Bouncing off each other at 190 mph. Balls. You get the point. We want to see bikes that are animals. Fire-breathing beasts that shake, buck, shoot flames, and occasionally twitch when parked because they are so crazy. Bikes so loud, so fast, and so scary, that most people wouldn’t even sit on them. Then, we want a bunch of crazy guys to get on them and ride them over the limit for 28 laps. We want to see them back ’em in, light ’em up, and wheelie down the front stretch. We want to see them catch a highside, push the front end, and save it on their knee. At the end of the day, we want all want to say “Dude, that bike is an animal. And that guy that won, he’s got balls!” DMG, make a class with animals. You’ve already got the guys with balls. Scott Dobson WERA Expert #126 Mattawan, Michigan FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Isn’t the solution to Roger Edmondson’s proposal to race AMA races in the rain fairly obvious? (OK, I’m late to the debate; you should see my reaction time these days on the racetrack.) It is safe to assume that DMG bought the rights to AMA racing because they believed they could make major money. It is equally safe to assume that they have proposed racing in the rain because they have calculated that rain racing (or, more likely, refusing to cancel races due to rain and paying massive ticket refunds) will increase their profits. Follow the money. Since DMG has invited racers to risk their lives, or their futures in wheelchairs, in order to increase DMG’s profits, would it not be fair to ask that DMG put at least their money (since their lives and bodies are not at risk) on the line, and guarantee that, if a racer is hurt while trying to increase DMG’s profits by racing in the rain, DMG will guarantee that DMG will compensate the racer or the racer’s family by paying all the damages that the racer suffers? If DMG cannot profitably afford to pay the premiums on the insurance policy that would be necessary to fund the guarantee, perhaps it would be fair to ask them why the racers and their families should subsidize their profits. If DMG refuses to compromise their profits by paying for injuries, well, at least we all know where we stand. Steve Davis CMRA/ASRA-CCS #66 Harrison, Arkansas. FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I thought that I would put in my 2 cents worth. In my humble opinion, as a former team owner from the 1990s, I think that with the manufacturers, if they start a series, it would wind up being a 8-10 rider factory bike show. Exactly what it is now, minus the “regular Joes/backmarkers.” I can understand the issue of wanting to have the big-bucks factory riders on the big-bucks factory bikes be guaranteed of winning the race(s), but frankly, it makes for some pretty boring racing, especially if you are on Team Jordan. I was at Daytona, as usually the season opener is the most well attended race of the year, everyone is on fresh equipment, and no one is hurt yet. I had not been to Daytona since the 1997 race, and I was surprised at how few racers were there, and I think they outnumbered the fans. The UJM/FX race was interesting for the first three laps until everyone got spread out, UJM factories in front, followed by non-UJM factories, followed by everyone else. (By the way, five seconds at Daytona is a LONG WAY BACK on a 175-mph 600). The Mladin/Spies Superbike Series was equally exciting. (By the way, three seconds at Daytona is a LONG, LONG WAY BACK on a 191-mph 1000). The races were well attended by the security guards, and I saw at least 27 fans in the stands. (At least I think they were fans, they were too far away to tell. It could have been the setting sun playing on the colored seats). The most exciting thing to happen was Mladin revving his bike to the rev limiter as he pulled into victory circle after winning the race by the aforementioned country mile over Spies, who finished two country miles ahead of the mini-barbarian DiSalvo. By the way, Disalvo is REALLY small, next to my 6’7″ 235-lb body. (The revving engine was actually the only time I actually heard engines over the wind noise). There is such a disparity in Spies/Mladin talent & performance levels over everyone else, that it was a waste of time, and I really would have enjoyed it more on TV. (If I could tear myself away from the golf channel). Mladin & Spies were fantastic, but the racing was like F1, boring. (By the way, did you hear that they are talking about allowing a pass in the next F1 race!?) I think that there are several issues that are not entirely what they seem and are in conflict with the manufacturers’ statements. 1. Racing to develop new stuff. No problem. It only took the AMA 25+ years to require the manufacturers to make some of the “NEW STUFF” they developed into kit parts available to other racers wanting to race their bikes that they supposedly want to sell to everyone. The sanctioning body (AMA in this case) had to force it down the manufacturers’ throats to get that done. It also fell on the AMA to require that the manufacturers actually deliver it to the racer within 15 days, as those same manufacturers would frequently ship those parts only after half or more of the season was over. 2. It appears to me that the manufacturers want each to have a class to bolster their sales. FX, 600SS, 1000SS, Superbike. Great. Let them do it. It will be the same boring racing that exists right now. The most exciting thing to happen lately has been Corona Honda beating Yates a time or two in one of the UJM classes. For years, there has been the opportunity to adapt the world superbike rules, and as far as I know, no one ever provided a good reason why that did not happen. The WSB as we all know requires the manufacturers to make the same parts available to everyone, and at a reasonable cost. That fact, coupled with the spec tires has made WSB as exciting as 600 supersport races were 10 years ago, AND privateers with talent can actually put a bike up front, or god forbid, win a race. Something that is impossible in US Superbike and FX, or come to think of it, any class that the manufacturers directly participate. I am looking forward to next year, as I think the Daytona superbike class is going to be really exciting, and believe it or not, I think Literbike will be as well. I, along with everyone else, was really excited when the AMA announced the FX rules changes a few years ago allowing/requiring 600cc UJMs, and some other variations, like 1000cc Ducatis, 1350 Buells, etc. I thought that we would actually see something special and different. Reality was, it was another UJM class. I am hoping that the Daytona Superbike class will be all it should be, and all that FX should have been, and I for one will be there to watch it, and I am betting that there will be a lot more than 27 people in the stands. Mark Lewellen Ozark, Missouri